Cameroon: Another former Finance Minister may be heading to jail

Lazare Essimi Menye, former Minister of Finance and Cameroon's current Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development was interrogated on Tuesday the 13^th of January at the Special Criminal Court in Yaoundé. Cameroon Concord understands the investigators of the Special Criminal Court held Minister Essimi Menye for a very long session for alleged misappropriation of 9 billion FCFA, as part of the Amity Bank case.  The indictment states that the Agriculture Minister allegedly abused his position and participated in the diversion of 9.025 billion FCFA from Amity Bank Cameroon which was experiencing liquidity problems in 2006.

Lazare Essimi Menye following his appointment in 2008 to the Ministry of Finance signed a memorandum of understanding for the transfer of 9.025 billion Cfa on behalf of Amity Bank without consulting the shareholders of the Bank who were predominantly Anglophones. It is for this matter that the former Cameroon Minister of Finance was summoned before the Special Criminal Tribunal.

It is vital to state in this report that we of this publication think the Prime Minister and Head of Government Philemon Yang should order all cabinet ministers facing allegations of corruption to step down from their positions of responsibility. A ministerial cabinet is not a museum for fraudsters.